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Where It All Began
The first book from The Rebels! Enjoy <3 Prologue The stars gleamed on the black sky like dew on a black pelt. The moon covered in mist shone down on a gorgeous clearing in the middle of a lush greenleaf forest. A couple of cats stood over the edge of a moonlit pool, its silver water splashing against the shore. "What has the Clans come to," whimpered a large, muscular black she-cat, which was unusual for her fiery personality. Her thick, sleek pelt looked unkept and ungroomed, sticking out in all anges. Her green eyes were dull with pain and seemed to be fix on only what she could see. "I know, Shadow," a silver-gray tabby tom whispered, his usually bright green eyes now dark with grief. "There must be a way to fix this!" exclaimed a small, brown tabby she-cat, her yellow eyes glinting with understanding and hope many cats were now jealous of. "And how, Wind?" snapped a large ginger tom, his amber eyes sparking with annoyance. "We can't just come there and fix it! We are dead! Forced to stay here and watch how the Clans come to a total destruction!" "Don't be so pessimistic, Thunder," warned a pale gray tom, oldest of them all, his son. "There is a way." "Oh, and what is the way, the great and powerful Sky?" the black she-cat asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Be quiet, Shadow," Sky said firmly. "SkyClan is still a thing and if they can get to the lake, they can help defeat Foxstar." "But who can possibly lead them to the lake? You know too well how it ended last time they tried to do it," the silver-gray tom noted, worried look in his eyes. Sky's eyes glazed with pain. "I know, River," he anknowledged, sighing deeply. "I know. But there is a cat that can." "Who?" Wind asked, her tail twitching impatiently. "She was just born. And she is the one that can hold the power of the stars in her paws," said Sky, narrowing his eyes. "Impossible! Dovewing was the third!" exclaimed Shadow, her green eyes large. "No she wasn't," Sky sighed, shaking his head. "I know it's hard to believe." "How is she related to Firestar?" asked Thunder, lashing his tail. "That's important." "She is his great-great-great-great-granddaughter," Sky explained calmly. "She will be the one to lead SkyClan back and get rid of Foxstar." "We can't put a burden like that on shoulders of a young kit," Wind protested. "She is too young." "She won't know yet," Sky said simply. "All dismissed." With that, he turned his back to the other cats and padded off into the forest. Thunder left first. Then Wind, and then River, until only Shadow remained. She closed her eyes, whiskers trembling. That kit had ShadowClan blood. Of course she was strong. She looked down into the pool, and a vision started forming. A scrawny, creamy brown tabby was curled around three tiny thin kits that suckled milk from her belly. One was dark ginger, the other one tortoiseshell, while the third one was gray and white. "It will be a hard path, little one," Shadow whispered, her eyes fixed on the vision. "But I know you will make it." Her voice quivered and grew weaker. "You have to." where it all began/chaper one Chapter One "Willowpaw," someone whispered softly to the sleeping she-cat. Willowpaw jolted away, blue eyes huge with surprise. "What is happening?" she asked frantically, looking around wildly until she spotted Amberpaw hunching over her. "Shh, calm down," Amberpaw whispered. "It's fine, everything is okay. But you need to wake up." Her sister's tortoiseshell pelt was spiked up. Something was not quite okay. "Why? It's not even dawn yet-" "Foxstar," Amberpaw whispered, trembling. "She came!" "Why?" Willowpaw whispered, beginning to shake. "Why, why would she come?" She had never seen Foxstar before, but she was terrified of her. She heard stories about Birdfeather from her. She knew she was a massive, battle-scarred russet tabby with sharp eyes blue like ice and claws that could rip you apart in seconds. She hoped she would never see her. "I don't know," Amberpaw whispered. "She just did! Come on, we have to come." Shaking, Willowpaw slowly stood up, following Amberpaw outside. They slipped out of the old burrow their family - and couple of friends - made their nest in. The clearing was dry and warm, typical weather of early greenleaf. Willowpaw spotted Daisylake in the crowd. Her tortoiseshell and white belly was large and swollen with kits yet to be born. Her green eyes were dull and tired, and it was obvious it took her great effort to even stand up. As the two apprentices made their way through the crowd, Birdfeather and Flamepaw joined them. She greeted them by licking their foreheads to comfort them. Willowpaw sat down next to her mother, trying to stay calm. Foxstar sat at a rock in front of them surrounded by guards. Sunlight gleamed on her thick pelt, and her piercing blue eyes searched the clearing for StarClan knows what. "It looks like all of you are here," she spoke, her voice silky yet cold. "Good. I have something to say." She started pacing around on the rock, making Willowpaw feel uneasy. Foxstar cleared her throat and continued. "A prophecy was delivered to us from StarClan themselves. It said that there is a cat with special powers that might be stronger than even StarClan. I ask you, if you know about this cat, it's your duty to give her to us. She will die a painful death she deserves. And if any of you will hide her, you are going to die along with her. If you give her to us, you and your family will be rewarded. Is that clear?" Willowpaw shuddered. She felt bad for the cat in the prophecy. Foxstar lashed her tail and jumped down. Her guards surrounded her and she walked away gracefully, disappearing in the shadows of the forest. "What are you waiting for?" one of the guards snarled at the gathered cats. "Go and do your duties!" Daisylake slowly limped back into her nest. Snakeclaw, her mate padded into the forest, few cats followed him. Willowpaw looked around if there was anything she could do. "I wonder if there is a life outside this prison," Flamepaw sighed, looking up into the sky. "Just... Stop thinking about it. It isn't gonna help," Willowpaw growled. "Why?" Flamepaw asked. "We're going to run away one day, remember?" "We can't! It just isn't possible, fine? We were kits when we thought of that! You're old enough to realize that it's not possible." Willowpaw lashed her tail. "Besides, I don't want to leave Birdfeather behind." "What is wrong with you? This isn't life. This is worse than death! We can try to run away, and if we get caught, they will kill us. Either way, we will be free of this place." "Do you have bees in your brain? You want to die? What if StarClan is not real? What if after death we go into infinite blackness?" Willowpaw snapped. "Still better than this place!" Flamepaw growled. "Know what? Fine. Go run away and get yourself killed! I don't care!" Willowpaw hissed and turned her back to Flamepaw. "I will!" Flamepaw snapped and stalked off. Willowpaw let out a hiss to herself and stomped away, angry at her sister. How could she be so foolish? "Willowpaw?" Willowpaw turned around. Falconpaw was padding in ber direction. She let out a long sigh. They shared a lot of things - for example, neither of them had a father. Both Shadowstorm and Stormfang died from greencough in the leaf-bare. Falconpaw was three moons older than Willowpaw. When Falconpaw was still a kit, his mother, Flowercloud, was killed by a fox. Back then, Birdfeather was kind enough to take him in. "Hey," Willowpaw purred. Falconpaw sat down next to her. "What do you think about the prophecy?" he asked, tilting his head. His amber eyes were full of curiosity and disbelief. "I feel bad for the cat in the prophecy. At the same time though, I wonder what would the reward be," Willowpaw admitted, lost in thoughts. "Yeah, agreed," Falconpaw nodded. "Foxstar sounds really scared, don't you think?" "Scared? I'm more scared of her than she will ever be of anyone," Willowpaw shuddered. The picture of Foxstar's blue gaze studying her would stick with her for a while. "I think she's very scared that the cat might destroy her," Falconpaw noted. "Destroy her? Who could destroy Foxstar?" Willowpaw gasped. "She's the strongest cat I've ever seen. The whole time she was here I was frightened that she would jump and rip me into shreds!" "If she'd hurt you, I would rip her into pieces," Falconpaw growled, unsheathing his long curved claws. Willowpaw gave him a small smile. "That is nice, but they'd kill you," she sighed. "Hey! You two! Why aren't you doing anything?" a screech sounded behind them. Before Willowpaw could react, guard's claws slashed her flank. Drops of scarlet blood splattered on her fur as she yelped and jumped away. Falconpaw let out a hiss and stood in front of Willowpaw, spitting. "Don't hurt her!" he spat agrily. The guard let out a snarl and lunged at him. He jumped on top of Falconpaw and clawed his back. Falconpaw let out a cry of frustration as he desperately tried to shake the guard off. The guard sank his claws into his neck, making him yelp in pain before jumping off him. "Now, stop talking and get to work!" he spat. He gave them one more piercing glare before he padded away. Falconpaw let out a hiss and then turned at Willowpaw. "Are you okay?" he asked softly and sniffed her wounded flank. "Yes, I'm fine, but what about you? He wounded you badly," Willowpaw mewed. "No, it's fine," Falconpaw sighed. "I'm tougher than I look." He looked up. "Let's go hunting." Willowpaw nodded and followed her friend into the forest. The ground was dry and dusty - a bit of rain would come in handy. Willowpaw tasted the air. She smelled so much prey - but most, if not all of it would go to guards. She felt her belly rumble and she let out a sigh. She didn't remember the last time she was properly fed. She casted a glance at Falconpaw who already managed to catch a squirrel. His bones were poking out of his fur like sticks. In fact, he looked like made on twigs and Willowpaw guessed she did too. As gentle breeze flew through the woods, she caught herself fearing Falconpaw will be blown away. In the evening they caught a bunch of mice and some birds. They carried their prey back home. As Willowpaw sank her teeth into the meat, her mouth started watering, but she pushed the feeling back and took the rest of it. They padded back into the camp, dropping the prey on the fresh-kill pile. The guard that had a watch over it picked out a scrawny, young bunny. "Take this to that group and piece it," he growled. Falconpaw picked up the bunny and carried it over to place where Flamepaw, Amberpaw, Dustpaw and Willowpaw's best friend Silverpaw were. She dropped the bunny. "We are supposed to share this," she sighed. Dustpaw let out a long sigh and with Falconpaw's and Amberpaw's help cut the bunny into six pieces. Willowpaw got the hind leg. She sat down next to Silverpaw and started eating her 'meal'. She gobbled up the little meat that was there hungrily, watching Silverpaw do the same. "I'm still hungry," Silverpaw whined. Willowpaw felt a pang of sympathy. Silverpaw was a former loner. Her parents and brother were dead, and she was unlucky enough to come across this territory. Even though the forest and river were rich on prey, most of it went to the guards and cats like them got to eat the thinest pieces. "I know," Willowpaw sighed, pressing next to her friend. "Can this get any worse?" Silverpaw asked, resting her chin on her paws. "It can. In leaf-bare when prey is scarce, we get barely anything. That's what Birdfeather told me," Willowpaw sighed. Silverpaw didn't respond. "I'm glad that it's greenleaf," she said after a while. "Sleeping outside is not fun, but at least it's somewhat warm now." Silverpaw had no family, therefore there was nobody she could sleep with, not to mention that some cats were still hostile to her and took her as a rogue. "You can move in with us if you want," Willowpaw suggested, lashing her tail. "We have some space now that Volepaw..." her voice trailed off. Silverpaw shuddered at the thought of their friend that was killed for sneaking in prey for Daisylake. She would never dare to do it herself. Volepaw was also Falconpaw's best friend. Now that he was gone, there was space. As they realized they were the only ones in the clearing, Willowpaw got up and led them to the old burrow they nested in. She led her friend into the dark. Amberpaw, Flamepaw and Falconpaw were already asleep. Willowpaw laid down in her nest and curled up for sleep. Silverpaw settled next to her. "Good night," she whispered. "Good night," Willowpaw whispered back, her mind drifting off to sleep.